The Family Way
by laoisbabe
Summary: A missing teen, an angry father, more than meets the eye. A case turns sour as the team race to save one of their own. As usual, involves slight Jack whump. Update nothing new - just fixing up a few mistakes.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: This is not a new story - some errors were pointed out to me so I just thought I should rectify them. Everything else pretty much as it was.**_

**The Family Way**

FBI Headquarters Manhattan

Jack Malone pored over paperwork in his office at in the Missing Person's Unit at F.B.I. headquarters in Manhattan. It had been a busy week but for once it had been a productive week. An elderly man had vanished from a retirement home upstate. He had been missing for three days and the staff and his team were presuming that he was lying dead somewhere. Amazingly he turned up at his old address on the third day, disorientated and confused and looking for his long since deceased wife. Despite his ordeal he appeared perfectly well. He was reunited with his very relieved sons and returned to the care of the retirement home. For the first time in weeks they had a positive outcome in a case.

For Jack, things on the home front were tense. Maria was planning on taking his daughters to Chicago and his father had just been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. His mind had wandered to his ailing father when his office telephone rang. He looked at the phone and considered not answering it for a moment. The rest of his team had left for the night, hours ago. He was about to leave himself. But something made him pick up.

"Yeah, Malone," he answered gruffly.

"Jack?"

"Dad? What's wrong?" Jack asked, realising how usual it was for his father to call him at work.

"Can you come over?" his father asked sounding flustered.

"Yeah, sure. I'm just finishing up here. I'll see you in a half hour," Jack said before hanging up.

He wondered what was bothering his father. These days it could be anything. Maybe he'd forgotten how to use the cooker, or he couldn't find the t.v. remote. Lately the calls were more cryptic and less urgent but none the less Jack packed up his files and grabbed his jacket and left the office. He hopped the subway and after a few stops came up within a five minutes walk of the retirement community where his father lived. He strolled to the building and let himself up to his father's apartment. Even though he had a key, out of respect he knocked before letting himself in.

"Jack, you're here," Frank Malone said with relief upon seeing him.

"I told you I was coming, Dad. What's the panic?" Jack asked.

"It's so awful. He's missing you know," he told him.

"Missing, who's missing, Dad?" Jack wondered as he removed his jacket and sat down on the sofa.

"Mary's grandson," Frank replied as if Jack should know who Mary was.

"Mary who? I don' know who that is, Dad," Jack explained patiently.

"Oh, my cousin Mary Daly, from Ireland," he said factually. "I haven't seen her in sixty years but we exchange letters and Christmas cards every year. She called me this afternoon. She was very upset. Her grandson, Ciaran, is missing. I told her that you might be able to help," Frank told him.

"Surely that's a matter for Irish law enforcement, Dad. There's not much I can do from here," Jack explained.

"No, Jack. He was here. She said he was on, wait a minute I wrote it down ….. on a J1 visa for the summer. I'm not sure what that means but he was staying here in New York," Frank explained further.

"Oh, alright. Give me some more details and I'll see what I can do. Are you sure he hasn't just gone touring around?" Jack asked.

"I don't know Jack," his Dad snapped contrarily. He was getting frustrated by Jacks questions.

"Alright Dad. Do you want me to make you something to eat?" Jack asked, realising that there was no point pushing it any further and knowing that his father probably hadn't eaten for hours. Frank nodded before turning on the t.v.

"Do you have Mary's phone number Dad? I can give her a call in the morning," Jack said as he rooted around in the refrigerator taking out ingredients to make a couple of sandwiches.

"Yeah, I wrote it down on the notepad on the kitchen table," Frank replied as he settled in to watch Judge Judy. Jack took the page from the notepad and put it in his shirt pocket. He turned back and made toasted ham and cheese sandwiches for each of them. They sat and watched t.v. together for a couple of hours. Jack helped get his father settled for the night before calling a cab and heading home to an empty apartment.

The next morning as he was getting ready to go to work, he put his hand in his jacket pocket and pulled out the note with Mary Daly's phone number in it. He recalled the vague conversation he had with his father the previous night. He sat on his sofa and reached for his telephone and dialled the Irish phone number. It would be close to lunchtime in Ireland about now, he thought. The phone rang a number of times before it was answered.

"Ciaran, is that you?" a female voice asked immediately.

"Eh, no, sorry. My name is Jack Malone. I'm Frank Malone's son. I work for the F.B.I.," Jack explained awkwardly.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I saw the American number come up and hoped it was Ciaran," she said sounding disappointed.

"Is that Mary?" Jack asked, thinking the voice sounded much younger than he had presumed.

"Oh, no. This is Fiona, I'm Mary's daughter. Ciaran is my son," she explained.

"Good, well you're the person I really need to speak to then," Jack replied. "First of all I need some personal details for Ciaran, full name, date of birth, last address, known associates, that kind of stuff."

"Yes, of course. Do you think you can find him?" Fiona asked desperately.

"I'll do my best," Jack promised, not wanting to raise her hopes too much.

"Thank you, Mr. Malone. His name is Ciaran James Kelly, his date of birth is January 15th 1990. He left Ireland on June 2nd to go to New York for the summer. He worked there last summer as well and loved it. Do you have e-mail, Mr. Malone? I can send you his address and anything else I can think of that might help," she offered.

"That would be great," Jack replied before giving her his e-mail address. "And it's Jack. Are you sure he just hasn't decided to move around, see some more of the country?" he asked.

"Positive. I know my son, Jack, and he wouldn't just vanish unless something had happened. He's a good boy, called in every Friday, kept in touch with his sister through Facebook. But he hasn't called in two weeks and there have been no posts in his Facebook account since then either. I'm so scared something awful has happened to him," she said trying to quell her emotions.

"Okay, Fiona, I'll get my team to look into this. I'll give you my cell phone and office number if you think of anything else," Jack said thoughtfully. He certainly could imagine what this mother was going through. Her only son was missing on another continent and she felt absolutely helpless. He decided that he would put all of his efforts into finding this kid. He said goodbye to Fiona and hung up. Looking at his watch, he realised that he was running late and hurried out the door and off to work.

_**A/N - For those of you wondering how to pronounce "Ciaran" I'll give you a hint - it's "Keer - awn".**_


	2. Chapter 2

The perspiration was soaking through Jack's shirt by the time he reached the office. New York was experiencing a heat-wave. It had been for most of the month of August. Jack was grateful for the relief that the air-conditioning offered as he entered the building. He was greeted by Vivienne when he reached the bullpen. Danny was sitting on Martin's desk as they both chatted. Samantha looked up and smiled knowingly towards him from her desk.

"Morning," he said in his usual manner.

"Running late, Jack?" Danny asked, cheekily checking his watch as he returned to his own desk.

"Actually I've been working. I think we've got a case. Irish student missing. It turns out he's distantly related to my Dad," Jack said as he sat down.

"Really? Who's the kid?" Martin asked curiously.

"His names Ciaran Kelly, he's nineteen years old and has been working in the city for the summer. Hasn't been heard from for two weeks," Jack informed them.

"Two weeks? That's a long time," Samantha commented.

"Yeah, well he used to check in with home once a week and when he missed a couple of calls they got worried. The family got in touch with my father, who called me last night," Jack explained.

"Do we know where he was working?" Viv asked.

"He was working construction somewhere uptown. His Mom is going to send me the details and a recent photo. Viv, I want you to check the hospitals and morgues for any John Does matching his description. Get his details from immigration," Jack said standing up and turning towards his office. Viv immediately started to make enquiries.

Jack removed his suit jacket and sat behind his desk and checked his e-mail. Fiona had already sent him everything he had asked for. He forwarded the mail to Martin's e-mail account then hurried back out to his team.

"Okay, we have a photo and some addresses. Martin and Danny you take his home address. Sam and I will take the construction company," Jack said. He printed out several copies of the photograph and hung one on the white board and distributed those remaining to his team. He looked at the smiling teenager in the photograph. He was a handsome youngster Jack noted. He hoped that this time he wouldn't have to make that dreaded call to his distraught parents.

"You okay, Jack?" Sam asked noticing that he seemed miles away.

"What? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I just hope we find this kid," he said quietly. "Come on, let's go."

The pair sat into the black sedan and drove uptown to a busy construction site. A large sign hung on the fencing bearing the name Pacelli Construction Ltd. It looked like a very busy site. They approached one of the workers and asked to speak to the Foreman. They were shown to a site office where they were introduced to Tom Girardi. He was the Site Foreman.

"Special Agent Jack Malone," Jack said holding up his I.D. "and this is Special Agent Samantha Spade, F.B.I. We're trying to trace of one of your crew," Jack told him.

"Really? Who?" Girardi asked shaking their hands.

"Ciaran Kelly," Jack replied.

"Ciaran? Yeah, I know him. Irish kid, right?" Girardi said.

"That's right. When was the last time you saw him?" Samantha asked.

"Em, not sure. Now that you mention it, it's been a couple of weeks. He didn't clock in since…" Girardi hesitated, checking clock in records, "Wednesday the 14th."

"Did he clock out that day?" Jack wondered.

"Yeah, was in at 7.30am and clocked out at 6.45pm. He was a good worker. Has something happened to him?" Girardi told them.

"He's missing. Have you seen or heard from him since? Did he come by to pick up any pay cheques or anything?" Sam asked.

"No, I don't think so."

"Did you not think it strange that he just left?" Jack asked.

"Not really. People come and go here all the time. I just presumed he decided to go back to Ireland early, that's all," Girardi replied. Jack nodded understanding why he might think that.

"Do you mind if we speak to some of his colleagues? They may have heard from him," Jack asked.

"Sure, go right ahead. You will have to put these on though," he said handing them each a yellow hard hat.

Suitably protected, the two agents and Girardi took a caged lift to the fifteenth floor of the high rise which was under construction. The foreman introduced them to Kelly's crew. Jack and Sam asked a number of questions. Unfortunately none of the work crew really knew Ciaran outside of work. They all had nice things to say about him but none of them admitted to hearing him talk about going home early or going travelling. The two agents thanked them for their help and took the lift back to the ground floor. They returned the hard hats to the site office and left. They made their way back to the office.

Meanwhile Danny and Martin had arrived Kelly's apartment. They knocked, showed their credentials and were invited in by a young girl. She introduced herself as Katie. She was also a student from Ireland and was sharing the two bedroomed apartment with three others, including Ciaran Kelly.

"When is the last time you saw Ciaran?" Martin asked the young lady.

"Maybe two weeks ago. He was pretty freaked out about something and wasn't making much sense," Katie told them.

"Do you know what was bothering him?" Danny asked.

"Well, he had been talking about him and Alysa getting their own place, with the baby coming and all," she began.

"Eh, who's Alysa?" Martin interrupted.

"His girlfriend. She's pregnant and, I don't know, maybe he was just freaking out at becoming a Dad or telling his Mum," she assumed.

"Do you have an address for Alysa or her full name?" Danny asked.

"I only met her a couple of times. She works in the site office as far as I can remember," Katie told them.

"We need to have a look in his room. Do you mind?" Danny asked.

"No, it's that room over there," she said pointing to a room with a closed door. "He shares it with Mike."

"And where's Mike?" Martin enquired.

"He's at work. He won't mind. You go ahead," Katie told them opening the door for the agents.

Danny and Martin exchanged glances as they walked into the room. It looked like a tornado had hit it.

"I don't suppose you know which bed is Ciaran's?" Martin turned back and asked.

"Yeah, the one near the window," Katie replied.

The two agents examined the area as best they could. They found a sports bag which obviously belonged to Ciaran because it contained his passport and some family photos. There were several changes of clothes in the bag and a small amount of money. It did look like he had packed the bag with the intention of travelling somewhere but for some reason hadn't returned for it. The agents took some items as evidence and then decided to return to the office also.

When they regrouped at the office, the team shared the information which they had discovered.

"So, from what we have so far, it looks like the kid got his girlfriend pregnant, ditched her and took off," Martin commented cynically.

"Hmm, I'm not convinced that he took off voluntarily," Danny replied. "He left his passport, a couple of hundred dollars and his clothes. It would cost a student a packet to replace all that."

"I agree," Jack interjected. "And from talking to his Mom, it doesn't sound like something he'd do."

"We need to talk to the girlfriend. Do we have her full name?" Viv enquired.

"Alysa is all the room mate could tell us. But we know that she also worked on the building site so we should check back there," Sam suggested.

"Okay. Viv, Martin, you check ATM card, credit card, phone card activity," Jack decided. "Sam, you're with me."

Soon Jack and Samantha were back at the construction site. They knocked on the site office door. There was no answer so they let themselves in. Jack was about to have a rummage around the desks when a young raven haired girl entered with a stack of papers under her arm. She stopped suddenly upon seeing them.

"Can I help you?" she asked looking suspicious. Jack and Samantha both produced their credentials and showed them to the young lady.

"F.B.I.?" she asked. "What's going on?"

"We're looking into the disappearance of Ciaran Kelly," Jack explained. "Are you Alysa?"

"Yes," she replied sheepishly.

"Have you heard from Ciaran recently?" Samantha asked.

"No!" she replied almost too quickly. Jack noticed this. "No," she repeated. "Not since he returned home."

"He told you he was going back to Ireland?" Jack asked. She nodded as she placed the papers she was carrying onto the desk.

"When was this?" Jack enquired.

"Em, maybe two weeks ago," Alysa replied. Jack wasn't buying it. He sensed that she knew more than she was saying. So did Samantha.

"Where is he, Alysa?" Sam asked. "Has something happened to him?"

"I don't know," she insisted biting her bottom lip and unable to look at the agents directly.

"If he's in trouble we can help," Jack explained. "His mother asked us to find him."

"I can't," she sobbed. "He'll kill him."

"Who are you talking about?" Samantha asked.

"My father," she whispered. Just then the office door opened and in walked the Site Foreman, Girardi. Alysa looked like a rabbit caught in headlights as he entered. Sam noticed her reaction.

"Thank you so much. I can't believe I left it behind again," Samantha said improvising as she put her cell phone in her pocket in an attempt to make Girardi believe that she had forgotten it on their earlier visit. Sam shook Alysa's hand and surreptitiously slipped her business card into her hand.

"Your welcome," Alysa smiled as best she could and concealing the card in her pocket.

The two agents returned to their car.

"What did you think of that?" Sam asked.

"It looks like Daddy is none too happy about becoming a Grandad," Jack replied. "We need to find this kid, before Mr. Pacelli does."

_**A/N - I know, a slow start but it will hot up. Had to build the foundations of the story first!**_


	3. Chapter 3

Jack called ahead from the car asking the rest of the team to look into the affairs of Mr. Silvio Pacelli. By the time they returned they were running everything from his DMV licence to IRS records and criminal records. It turned out Mr. Pacelli wasn't the snow white businessman he appeared to be on the outside. He had his fingers in many pies, several with known links to the Mafia. Jack asked Martin to pay a visit to the Organised Crimes Division of the bureau and see if they had any information that would be useful.

Meanwhile Jack sat in his office thumbing through a thick file detailing Pacelli's business dealings. He wasn't sure what he was looking for but hoped he would know it if he saw it. As he sat there his office phone rang. It was his father.

"Jack, did you find the boy yet?" Frank asked bluntly.

"No, Dad, not yet," Jack replied sounding patronising.

"Well, why aren't you out there looking for him? Mary's beside herself with worry and I told her you were looking for him," Frank said accusingly.

"Dad, I am looking for him. We're following some leads right now. It's going to take some time, okay? I'll call you," Jack said getting fed up with having to live up to his father's high expectations. He was good at his job, he knew that, but he couldn't work miracles.

"Okay, Jack, don't forget," Frank said before hanging up.

Jack still had the receiver in his hand when Samantha put her head around the door. Jack motioned her in.

"Hey, you okay?" she asked noticing the drawn look on his face.

"Yeah, fine. Just my Dad," he said sounding a little exasperated as he replaced the receiver on the cradle. Sam smiled. She was vaguely aware of the strained relationship that Jack shared with his Dad though he rarely spoke of it.

"I just had a call from Alysa. She wants to meet us," Sam informed him.

"Good, where?" Jack asked eagerly.

"A coffee shop, a couple of blocks from the construction site," Samantha replied.

"When?"

"Twenty minutes," Samantha told him. With that Jack stood and walked over and grabbed his jacket.

"We'd better get going then," Jack said as he held the door ajar and let her pass.

Jack and Sam got to the coffee shop with only two minutes to spare. They went inside and ordered a couple of coffees. They took a table close to the door where they could see Alysa arrive. She was a little late but immediately sat down with them when she arrived.

"Hi," she said nervously.

"Would you like anything?" Jack offered kindly.

"No, thank you," she replied. "You said you could help us."

"We can but you need to tell us exactly what's going on," Jack replied. Alysa glanced nervously around and looked out the window. She turned back to the agents.

"If he knew I was talking to Feds he'd kill me," Alysa told them.

"Your father?" Samantha asked sounding a little surprised.

"Yes or he'd get someone else to," she replied. Neither agent spoke, trying to encourage Alysa to continue talking.

"I'm my father's only daughter. He had high hopes for me. Marriage into the right type of family, if you know what I mean," Alysa continued. "But then I met Ciaran. We didn't mean to fall in love, it just happened. He is so sweet, gentle, caring. He's going to make a great Dad. But my father has forbidden me to see him again. He says that if he ever sees Ciaran he's going to kill him. I thought he was just angry until a couple of weeks ago. Ciaran was leaving the site after his shift finished. My brother and a few of his cronies shoved him into a car and took him to an alley. They beat him pretty badly. They warned him to leave and to never come back to this city or they would finish the job. He called me and told me that he would stay here for me, for our baby. He said they could never drive him away from his family."

"Do you know where he is?" Jack asked. She nodded that she did.

"He's crashing in a cheap motel in Queens. I can take you," Alysa suggested.

"Okay, let's go. The sooner the better," Jack replied.

The three left the coffee shop and walked a block to where the agents had left their car. Unknown to them, one of Pacelli's guys was following Alysa. He noted the car plates and saw that they were government plates. He hailed a cab and told the driver to follow the black sedan. En route, he called his boss.

"It's Carlo. She just got into a car with a guy and a girl. I think they were Feds," he told him.

"Follow them. Let me know where they go. I'll send Ric and some of the guys as soon as we know where they're going," Pacelli replied. The conversation was short and direct. Carlo knew that his boss would be devastated to think that his only daughter had betrayed him to the Feds. He sensed that Pacelli was hurting but would be willing to pay whatever price to protect his interests. Family or not, she was going to pay dearly for her betrayal.

The drive to the motel took a little over a half hour. Neither agent noticed the yellow cab following them the entire journey. In NYC it is easy for a cab to disappear among the multitude of yellow cabs throughout the city. The trio pulled up in the parking lot of the small, grotty looking motel on the outskirts of Queens. A "Vacancies" sign flashed at the entrance to the parking lot. Jack looked around but paid no heed to the taxi cab that drove past. He allowed Alysa to lead the way. She walked up the stairs to the first floor and along the walkway until they came to Room 23. She knocked and called to the occupant.

"It's me."

The door opened slowly. Satisfied that it was his girlfriend the young man stood back and opened the door wider. He looked taken aback when the two agents followed Alysa in to the room.

"Who are they?" he asked immediately his distrust obvious.

"They're FBI agents. They're here to help us," Alysa explained.

"Yeah, well we don't need their help," Ciaran said confidently turning his back on them.

"Really? Well your face tells me otherwise," Jack quipped referring to the fading bruises. Ciaran glared at him. "Your family are worried about you Ciaran. I spoke to your Mom last night. She wants you home," Jack informed him.

"Really?" Ciaran asked. "I can't go home right now. I've got responsibilities," he explained taking Alysa's hand.

"But it's not safe for you here, Ciaran," Alysa said looking into his face.

"Well, I'm not leaving you and our baby here with him," he said referring to her father.

"You won't be. I can go to Ireland with you if that's what you want," Alysa said lovingly.

"I know your father, Lys, he won't give up. He'll come after you," Ciaran reminded her.

"Maybe he'll calm down once he sees our baby," she said, her voice filled with hope.

"Maybe. So you can get us safe passage back to Ireland?" Ciaran asked, looking at Jack.

"We can arrange all that. But first I'd be happier if we got you back to the office so you could call your Mom," Jack replied. Ciaran looked at Alysa's pleading eyes. It was what she wanted, he could tell. He nodded and agreed to accompany the two agents back to Manhattan.

"I'll move the car closer, just to be on the safe side," Jack said to Samantha. "You guys pack up whatever you want to bring. I'll be back in a couple of minutes," Jack said closing the motel room door behind him.

He looked around the parking lot. Nothing seemed untoward. He was approaching his car when someone behind him called to attract his attention.

"Excuse me Sir," the approaching voice said in an unthreatening tone.

Jack stopped. As he turned he wondered how he hadn't seen anyone in the parking lot. Then he was suddenly face to face with a man in his mid-thirties, slightly taller than himself. He felt a rush of panic as he looked into the guys eyes and read his intentions. He reached for his weapon, sensing that his actions were too late. Suddenly he felt a gut wrenching blow to his abdomen which caused him to immediately double over and clutch his stomach. His attacker placed his hand on his shoulder. It was only when Jack was pushed away he felt the blade being extricated and he realised that he had been stabbed. He stood shocked, watching as his attacker walked away as calmly as he had approached. He gazed down at his hands which were now covered in his own blood. He stared shocked at the crimson stain growing on his shirt. His legs suddenly turned to jelly and he collapsed back against the car and slid to the ground. Fighting to stay conscious, he felt for his cell phone. Still clinging to consciousness he scrolled down to Samantha's number and called her. She answered straight away.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked, her intuition telling her something wasn't right. She got no answer.

"Jack? Are you there?" Sam asked as she ran to the window to look out. She could hear heavy breathing on the other end of the phone.

"Jack, talk to me!"

"Sam," he said sounding breathless. "…Call…backup."

"What's wrong, Jack?" Sam shouted immediately worried for her boss. He didn't sound too good.

"I'm ….stabbed," Jack mumbled. The unconscious world was winning the battle. Darkness closed in around him. He couldn't fight it any longer. He blacked out and the phone slid from his hand.

"Jack! Jack!!" Sam shouted down the phone. Her instincts told her to find him and find him fast but her training told her to stay with the two kids and call for back up. She did the latter. As she called for assistance, the two youngsters huddled together on the bed. They listened for details of what was going on from the call Sam was making. Ciaran got up and walked towards the door. Sam intercepted him.

"Sit back down!" she ordered, not taking no for an answer. Ciaran Kelly stared her down.

"Look, lady, if the old guy is dead, we'll be next if we don't get out of here now," he insisted. Sam felt sick when he referred to Jack as "dead" but knew what he was saying was true. If they'd killed Jack, there was nothing to stop them killing them all. She had a responsibility to keep the teenagers alive. She was going to do her damnedest to ensure they were kept safe. She removed her weapon from her holster and released the safety catch.

"Okay," Sam said looking at the frightened teens. "I take it there's no back way out of here."

"I don't think so," Ciaran said ruefully.

"Right, I'll go first. If I give you the okay, you follow me," Sam explained.

Ciaran Kelly put a protective arm around his girlfriend. She looked anxiously into his eyes. Slowly Samantha opened the motel room door. She was about to step outside when a fist smashed into her face and sent her flailing back into the motel room and sprawling on the floor.

"Hey, Alysa," a booming voice called as three men forced their way into the room. Alysa stood defiantly.

"Ric, why are you doing this?" she asked as she hurried over to the fallen agent. Blood poured from Samantha's nose and split lip. Shakily with Alysa's help Sam tried to sit up.

"Leave the Fed bitch alone," Ric ordered, pulling his sister away from Samantha.

"Well now, won't Pop be pleased. You're Mick boyfriend is here too," he smiled pointing his pistol menacingly at Ciaran. "Weren't you told to get out of this city?" he said poking Ciaran in the chest with the gun. "I thought we got that message through to you the last time we met. Not very bright, are you?" Ric snarled, reminding him of the beating he and his friends had delivered the fortnight previous. Ciaran backed away not wanting to antagonise Alysa's big brother. He knew they were in big trouble now. Right at that moment, he couldn't see a way out. He was scared.

_**A/N - Hope you like it so far.**_


	4. Chapter 4

"_Well now, won't Pop be pleased. You're Mick boyfriend is here too," he smiled pointing his pistol menacingly at Ciaran. "Weren't you told to get out of this city?" he said poking Ciaran in the chest with the gun. "I thought we got that message through to you the last time we met," Ric snarled, reminding him of the beating he and his friends had delivered the fortnight previous. Ciaran backed away not wanting to antagonize him any further._

Ric turned to the other two men. Carlos was among them.

"Take them out of here," he commanded. Carlos grabbed Alysa while the other heavier built man took Ciaran roughly by the arm.

"What about the Fed?" Carlos asked as he stepped over the Samantha who was sitting on the floor feeling groggy.

"Kill her," Ric commanded. Carlos looked at him tentatively, not wanting to be facing a capitol murder charge.

"What? You don't wanna kill a woman, do you?" Ric sneered at his uncertainty.

"No, it just seems like such a waste. We could have some fun with her first," Carlos suggested with a wry smile. Ric grinned wickedly back at him.

"You have a point," Ric sniggered. "Get up!" he ordered.

Ric dragged Samantha to her feet. The room spun as she stood. She had taken quite a blow to the face. Her legs felt shaky as she was frog marched from the motel room. She was dragged down the stairs and across the parking lot. As they approached the waiting van, Sam saw Jack's motionless body lying between his car and another parked vehicle in a pool of his own blood. She struggled against Ric to try and free herself and get to him but he twisted her arm viciously behind her back and forced her to keep walking. The side door of the van was opened and the three captives were forced inside and directed to lie down as Ric and Carlos climbed in with them. The other guy climbed into the driver's seat. As the van started to move, Sam was sure she could hear sirens approaching in the distance and couldn't believe their bad timing. As the van sped up, Ric threw ropes at Ciaran and told him to tie the women up. Reluctantly, he did as he was told. He knew Ric's reputation. He wouldn't think twice about putting a bullet in his brain if he pissed him off. Sam lay quietly as she was tied by Ciaran. She couldn't get the picture of Jack's bloodied body lying on the ground in the parking lot. She tried to hide her tears of despair and grief from her captors. It would be construed as a weakness and she had no intention of letting them think she was weak.

Meanwhile, back at the motel police and ambulance started arriving. Police officers checking the parking lot found Jack lying between the two vehicles.

"Hey," one of the officers called as he knelt and felt for a pulse. "We've one down over here!"

A paramedic was quickly over to check the victim. He too instinctively checked for a pulse. There was a slight flutter beneath his fingers, indicating that the victim was still alive.

"Bring the gurney," he shouted as he tore open the victim's shirt to get to the wound. He pressed gauze pressure pads to the abdomen just below his ribcage to try and stem the blood flow. The bluish tint on the victim's lips signalled that he was not getting enough oxygen. Using his stethoscope he checked the chest for breath sounds. He was experienced enough to diagnose a haemathorax. Their victim, Jack, was most likely bleeding into his chest cavity. As soon as his partner arrived with the gurney they carefully lifted Jack onto it.

"Bag him," the paramedic ordered. His partner placed the face mask over Jack's face and manually squeezed the bag, forcing oxygen into his lungs. "I need to put in a chest tube," the paramedic announced.

"Here?" his partner asked, knowing the risks of infection and the numerous things that could go wrong. It would usually be the job of the E.R. doctors to do this procedure. They could face a whole lot of trouble for taking matters into their own hands.

"Don't have much choice. He'll be DOA if I don't," he said bluntly. Deep down his partner knew he was right. They could deal with the fall out later. He watched as his partner sterilised the side of Jack's chest and made a small incision between two ribs. Carefully he pushed a small catheter tube into the incision and through his chest wall. As he did blood began to trickle from the tube and they watched with relief as their patient began to breathe more easily.

"This guys a cop!" the paramedic shouted to one of the police officers when he removed the I.D. from Jack's inside jacket pocket. The officer came over and checked the badge.

"He's not one of ours," he said coldly. "He's F.B.I."

As he said it, Martin and Danny were just arriving on scene. They showed their I.D.'s at the police cordon and were permitted through. As they approached the black sedan the one of the cops brought their attention to the gurney which was being wheeled hurriedly to the ambulance.

"He's one of yours," he said pointing to the ambulance.

"Sorry?" Martin said.

"The guy their working on, he's F.B.I.," the officer explained. Danny and Martin exchanged worried glances. They sprinted over to the ambulance as the paramedics were loading their patient into the back.

"Hold up! Hold up!" Danny shouted before they closed the back door. He showed his I.D.

"Do you know him?" the paramedic asked. Danny looked in and saw a deathly pale Jack Malone lying in blood soaked clothes, his face covered by an oxygen mask. Danny turned to Martin.

"It's Jack," he announced bluntly. "I'll go with him."

"Okay, I'll find Samantha," Martin said as he slammed the door shut. The ambulance pulled out in a hurry and accelerated away sirens blaring.

Martin asked around to see if anyone had seen Agent Spade. No one had. Then he overheard a police officer say that they had found blood in one of the motel rooms upstairs. Martin followed the officers to Room 23. There was a small stain of blood on the carpet and a smudged bloody handprint on the wall just inside the door.

"Do you know who this room was registered to?" Martin asked on of the police officers.

"The register is signed by a John Murphy, probably a fake," the officer told him.

Martin looked around. There wasn't much in the place. A sports bag was sitting on the bed, open as if someone had been packing. He checked out the bathroom, nothing much there except cockroaches. As he came back into the bedroom he noticed a gun under a table by the wall. He bent down and taking an evidence bag from his pocket, he lifted it up. It was a standard F.B.I. issue Beretta. It had to belong to Samantha. Something dire had gone down here, serious enough for Samantha to be disarmed. He had to find out what. He decided to speak to the manager. He returned back downstairs and headed to the manager's office. The manager was standing at the door watching all that was going on. Martin flashed his I.D. and then took out the photograph of Ciaran Kelly.

"Is this John Murphy?" Martin asked.

"Yeah, that's him. What did he do?" the manager asked.

"Just found himself a bit of trouble by the looks of it," Martin replied not giving much away.

"Too bad. Seemed like a nice kid," the manager said sympathetically.

"Did you see what happened out there?" Martin asked.

"Not really. I was having my break out back. When I came back the place was crawling with cops," he told him. "Typical, I was only gone fifteen minutes."

"Did you notice anything out of the ordinary beforehand?" Martin asked.

"Not really. I saw the black sedan pull up. Not long after that a van parked over there. It was gone when the cops showed up," he informed him.

"Did you get the registration?" Martin asked desperately.

"Nah, I'm short sighted you see but I can do better than that, I can show you," the manager offered.

"You can?" Martin said in surprise.

"Sure, we're not totally backwards you know. We have a security camera taping out back," he said quite proudly.

Martin was counting his blessings. He couldn't believe his luck. He followed he manager out back and the two watched the tape for the hour previous. They saw Jack and Sam arriving in the black sedan and saw them and Alysa Pacelli walking towards the stairs. Less than five minutes later a brown van arrived and two men got out. Another man walked up to them. They had a brief conversation and then looked up towards the first floor. They immediately concealed themselves. Then the tape showed Jack walking over towards his car and one of the guys following him. Martin watched in horror as he witnessed Jack turn around and being viciously stabbed for no apparent reason.

"I'll need to take this tape as evidence," Martin told the manager who had no objections.

They continued to watch what had happened after Jack's stabbing. The three men took the stairs to the first floor. Then they were out of shot for a time. The manager fast forwarded until they returned to the parking lot. This time they were each dragging another person with them. Martin recognised Samantha immediately. Anger rose within him when he saw that she had been beaten but his anger turned to fear when he saw her and the two teenagers being shoved into the rear of the van and disappearing.

Now he knew that Jack was on his way to hospital and that Samantha had been taken hostage. This was serious. He immediately called Van Doren to apprise her of the situation. She was very concerned for the welfare of the two agents. She told Martin to return to the office with the tape and to give it to the techs. It was their best lead and they needed to move fast if they were to find their missing agent.

While all this was going on, Danny was sitting anxiously near Jack's head while the ambulance sped towards the hospital. He felt sick to the stomach with worry for his boss. The pressure pad covering his wound was soaked through again and the paramedic replaced it. His breathing was sounding very raspy and laboured. He was really struggling. Danny felt helpless. He just held Jack's hand and tried not to get in the way of the paramedic. As they reached the E.R. Danny felt a huge surge of relief. At least he had made it to the hospital, now Jack had a fighting chance, he felt.

The paramedics wasted no time in unloading him from the ambulance and rushed him through to the Trauma Room. Danny stood awkwardly not wanting to be in the way but still needing to know what was going on. He watched as a team of medical personnel worked furiously on his boss. Danny prayed that they could save him. After a short while the brakes were taken off the gurney and it was wheeled from the Trauma Room towards the elevator. Danny tried to follow but was halted before he could step onto the elevator.

"We're taking him up to surgery. You'll have to stay here. We'll send someone to talk to you in a while," a nurse informed him before the elevator doors shut and they were gone. Danny stood staring at the grey metal door feeling like a lost child. He ran his fingers through his hair and walked in circles for a moment, unsure what he should be doing. Just then his cell phone rang.

"Danny, I've just heard. How is he?" she asked. It was Vivienne back at the office.

"They've taken him up to surgery, Viv. He's strong, right? He's going to be okay, isn't he?" Danny said looking for reassurances.

"I hope so, Danny. Look, I gotta go, Van Doren is setting up a task force to find Sam," Viv informed him.

"To find Sam? What's going on?" Danny asked hearing about Samantha for the first time.

"Security tape shows her and Ciaran Kelly and his girlfriend being forced into a van at the motel. As of now, she's missing," Viv explained.

"Oh man!" Danny said shocked. "Do you need me back there?"

"Not right now. You stay with Jack and let us know when he's out of surgery," Viv decided. Danny had no problem staying.

"Has anyone called Jack's family?" Danny enquired.

"I think Van Doren called Maria as soon as she heard," Viv told him.

"Someone should also call his father," Danny reminded her.

"Of course. I'll call him right away," Viv said before hanging up. Danny took a seat on the corridor and began what was to be a long wait.

He had been sitting there almost an hour when he saw Maria Malone walk into the E.R. He stood and beckoned her over to him.

"Agent Taylor, where is he?" Maria asked unable to mask the concern in her voice.

"They took him up to surgery over an hour ago. I've been waiting for word," Danny told her.

"How did this happen?" Maria asked obviously not knowing the details of how Jack was injured.

"We don't really know," Danny replied. Maria looked confused.

"Weren't you with him?"

"No, he was with Agent Spade," Danny replied. He noticed Maria's expression change slightly at the mention of her name.

"Well I'd like to speak to her then," she said with determination.

"You can't," Danny replied nervously. "I mean no one can, she's missing. She and Jack were on a case. Jack was stabbed and Agent Spade was taken," Danny explained. All Maria heard was "Jack was stabbed". She sank into the seat beside Danny. He sat back down beside her. He was aware of Jack and Maria's split but judging from Maria's reaction it was obvious to him that her feelings for Jack had not entirely dissipated.

"How bad is it, Danny?" Maria asked sensing Danny's fear.

"He's in good hands, Mrs. Malone," Danny answered uncomfortably not wanting to lie and give her false hope. From what he had witnessed it looked bad but he couldn't tell her that. He thought she should at least be allowed to cling onto hope until they knew for sure. Maria smiled faintly at him and took his hand in hers and squeezed it gently. They both sat and waited patiently for any news, praying all the time that when it came, it would be good.

**TBC**


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N - Sorry for the delay. I'll try and get the chapters up a bit more regularly.**_

Back at FBI headquarters, Martin was in the Tech Room going through the security tape with one of the techs. They had managed to bring up the van's license plate. They got the number and ran it through the DMV database and got a hit. It was reported stolen over a month ago. They pulled up stills of the three men involved from the motel footage. Using specific facial recognition software they searched a number of databases. So far they had only received a hit on one of the men, Carlo Grosso. He had a varied criminal record for larceny, grand theft auto before graduating to G.B.H. He also had a reputation as muscle, an enforcer if you will. He had been interviewed in relation to a couple of homicides but was never charged due to lack of evidence. Upon reading this, Martin felt even more fearful for his colleague. He knew they had to find her. She was in great danger.

He returned to the bullpen where Vivienne was just getting off the phone after talking to Danny.

"Any word on Jack?" he asked her.

"He's in surgery. Danny said he'll call when he has any news," Viv explained. "Anything from the tape?"

"I've got a name, Carlo Grosso. Tech are running the other two pictures. Hopefully we'll get some matches. Then we'll know what direction to take. Right now I'm thinking we need to be talking to Mr. Pacelli. After all, his daughter has just been kidnapped. You would think that the concerned father would have been in contact with us about that now wouldn't you?" Martin said cynically.

Viv agreed but she also knew that they had to link up with another team that Van Doren had procured from the Organised Crime Division. She informed Martin that they weren't the lead team in this investigation anymore but that they were still permitted to assist in it. They called upstairs to Special Agent Dan Jackman, supervisory agent of the team. He was able to fill them in on Carlo Grosso, his history and his known associates. Among them was a certain Ric Pacelli. Immediately alarm bells went off in the minds of both Vivienne and Martin. That was their connection. When Jackman brought up a photograph of Ric Pacelli on his P.C., Martin was able to identify him from the security footage he had seen earlier.

"That's one of them!" Martin said confidently.

"Are you sure? He's one of Silvio Pacelli's sons. Why would he be involved in kidnapping his little sister?" Jackson asked puzzled.

Between them, Martin and Viv explained to him the reason why Jack and Samantha were with Alysa Pacelli and Ciaran Kelly, about the pregnancy and the threats against Kelly.

"I'm surprised the kid survived this long!" Jackman commented. "Pacelli is not a forgiving man."

"That's why we need to find them sooner rather than later," Viv said seriously.

The agents sat down and went through the scene photographs and other evidence gathered at the motel.

"Is that Agent Spade's piece?" Jackman enquired seeing the photo of a handgun on the floor near the wall.

"Yes, we think she was punched and dropped her weapon. The security footage shows her with a bloodied face so that's what I'm thinking," Martin replied.

"Did you find her cell phone?" Jackman asked.

"Eh, no. I don't think so," Martin replied with uncertainty.

"So it's possible she still has it in her possession," Jackman deduced.

"Probably," Martin replied realising where Jackman was going with this.

"Head back to the Tech room. Give them her cell details and see what tower it's pinging from," Jackman suggested. "Pacelli has a lot of properties around town. It could help us narrow down our search grid."

Martin was quickly to his feet and hurrying to the Tech Room. Finding Samantha was their priority. Time was of the essence.

Across town beneath the shroud of evening, the brown van containing the hostages pulled into a large storage warehouse. Once it stopped the side door opened and Ric Pacelli jumped out. He dragged Samantha out first while Carlo pushed Ciaran and Alysa out the door. The three looked around the place nervously. It was obviously being used as a storage area for Pacelli's building supplies. The three were led to a windowless room at the rear of the building. Samantha wondered if had been a cold storage room at one stage. Whatever it used to be, it appeared it was to act as their prison for the time being. They three were shoved into the darkness. Before leaving them, Ric made a few lewd comments aimed at Samantha and grabbed her by the hair and pulled her head roughly back. He ran his tongue along her exposed neck and whispered into her ear about the sick fun they would have later. He and his comrades laughed out loud as Samantha struggled away from him. Then he announced to them that he had somewhere to be and that he would be back. He slammed the heavy door shut. Ciaran rushed to the door and kicked on it shouting out to Ric.

"Don't leave her here!" he pleaded. "She's your sister for God sake."

"I don't have a sister," Ric laughed callously and hammered the outside of the door for good measure.

Hospital

Danny was pacing the corridor while Jack's ex-wife sat uncomfortably on a hard plastic seat waiting for news on Jack. Finally after almost three hours they were approached by a surgeon with a stern looking expression on his face. Danny stopped and apprehensively watched him approach while Maria got to her feet.

"Mrs. Malone?" the surgeon enquired.

"Yes, how is he?" she asked hesitantly, fearing the answer she might hear.

"He's a very lucky man," the surgeon smiled. "As you know he was stabbed in the abdomen, just below his ribcage. The blade entered at an upward angle but miraculously missed his aorta. It nicked his lung causing the chest cavity to fill with blood. We were able to repair all the damage and he's doing just fine. He's in recovery at the moment and breathing on his own. I can take you up if you'd like to see him," the surgeon offered.

"Thank you, Doctor," Maria replied with a smile creeping across her face. Her relief was palpable.

"Thank God," Danny muttered under his breath.

They both followed the surgeon into the elevator and to the fifth floor. They were shown to a glass walled room where Jack lay recovering from his surgery. He looked grey in the face but appeared to be resting comfortably. Maria walked over and took his hand.

"I always feared this would happen some day, Jack," she whispered to the sleeping man as she stroked his arm. "You've no idea the number of nights I've spent wondering if it was the night I'd get the dreaded call. You get better, Jack. Our girls need you," she said her fingers brushing a stray lock of hair from his forehead.

Danny felt a little awkward witnessing this open display of affection. Even though their marriage had ended, he acknowledged that you cannot just switch off feelings that you held for such a long time. Maria kissed Jack on the forehead and then turned back to Danny.

"I'd really like to stay until he wakes but it's late and I've left the girls with a sitter. I really have to go. Would you mind staying with him?" she asked.

"Of course not," Danny replied.

"It's just I'd rather he didn't wake up alone. Will you let him know I was here?" she asked.

"Sure. I'll tell him," Danny replied sympathetically.

"Thank you," Maria said appreciatively. She took one more look at her wounded ex-husband before turning and leaving.

Danny followed her and stood outside the room momentarily to call Viv and inform her of the news that Jack had come through the surgery and was in a stable condition. Then he returned and positioned himself in a seat close to the bed. There he waited patiently. His patience was rewarded when only a half hour later Jack began to stir in the bed. Danny noticed that his breathing had become less relaxed as his awakening senses started to register the pain and discomfort that he was in. Then his eyes opened suddenly as though he had woken from a nightmare. He stared at the ceiling for what seemed to Danny like an age before he realised where he was.

"Jack?" Danny said softly. Jack didn't respond.

"Jack, it's okay. You're in the hospital," Danny explained clearly. Jack turned his head slowly towards the tall figure coming into focus over him.

"Danny?" he croaked sounding weak.

"Yeah, Jack, I'm here. You're going to be okay," Danny replied, touching Jack's arm.

"Where's Sam?" Jack asked breathlessly.

"Em…" Danny stammered not knowing whether to tell Jack what was happening or not. "She's, eh, coming over later," he lied.

Jack however seemed happy with his reply. He was struggling to keep his eyes open.

"You rest, Jack," Danny suggested. "I'll be here when you wake."

Jack closed his eyes and was asleep almost immediately once again. Danny sat back and started worrying about Sam and worrying about how and when he was going to tell Jack that Samantha was missing. He knew he would not take the news well. But for now, Danny remained at his superior's side contemplating what was the best way to break such difficult news.

_**TBC**_


	6. Chapter 6

Back at the warehouse, Sam wriggled and twisted endlessly trying to free her hands which were still bound. Ciaran came over to her and although his hands were also bound behind his back, he tried to help her. After several attempts they managed to loosen her binds. Eventually her hands were free. Despite the darkness she was then able to untie Ciaran and Alysa's hands.

"There," she said after she finally undid Alysa's ties. "Not that it helps much," she said straining to check out their surroundings.

Samantha felt around the room. Even though her eyes had adjusted to the darkness, it was still difficult to see anything. Feeling around the walls she found nothing but grime and dirt. When she reached the door she pulled at the handle hoping for some movement but there was none. It wasn't going to budge. No matter what they did, they were stuck. She sat down, her back against the wall and pulled her suit jacket tightly around her. She was starting to feel the cold. She shoved her hands in her pockets and that's when she found her cell phone. She pulled it out and checked for a signal. Typical, she thought, no signal. She used the light from the cell phone to look around their prison. Overhead there were bars and some meat hooks. It became clear to Samantha that they were being held in what was once a meat cold store. She took down some of the hooks and handed one to Ciaran. He looked curiously at her.

"It's all we have," she said desperately. "We may need to defend ourselves."

"Okay, if we have to ," Ciaran replied hoping he wouldn't have to but willing to do whatever he had to protect Alysa. "So now what?"

"Now, we wait," Samantha said sitting back down. As she sat there her mind kept flashing back to the same image, that of Jack lying in the parking lot. She refused to believe that he was dead, even though what she saw told her otherwise. She felt nauseous as she recalled the blood that pooled on the ground around him. She couldn't bear to think of getting out of there and then having to face a world without Jack. She willed herself to be positive and to stay strong for the young couple she was being held with. They were depending on her skills as an agent to protect them and she wasn't going to let them down.

--------------

Meanwhile at FBI headquarters Martin returned from the Tech Room to where Viv and Jackman were waiting.

"Any luck?" Jackman asked.

"Nothing," Martin replied with disgust. "It's not pinging from anywhere. Seems to have vanished along with Samantha," he informed them.

"Right, well that just leaves us with Ric Pacelli and his guys. How about you and I pay Mr. Pacelli a little visit?" Jackman suggested.

"Let's go," Martin replied.

They bid Vivienne farewell. She had made it known to them that it was her intention to pick up Jack's father and drive him to the hospital to see his son. Shortly after they left, she drove to the retirement home and collected Frank Malone. She tried to explain as clearly as she could what had happened to Jack, hoping not to frighten the elderly gentleman. He listened to her and agreed to go with her. He seemed calm and unperturbed by what she had told him which led her to wonder if he really understood what was going on. When they arrived at the hospital Vivienne and Frank soon found Jack's room. Danny was dozing in the chair beside him when they entered the room. He woke with a start when Viv put her hand on his shoulder and spoke to him.

"Viv!" he said jumping up and then turning to check on Jack.

"It's okay, Danny. I just brought Frank to see Jack," Viv said noting the anguished expression on the young agent's face.

"Oh, good," Danny said straightening up and putting out his hand to shake Frank's. Frank ignored his outstretched hand and just walked straight to his son's bedside. He stared at his son's pale features before turning to the two agents with concern.

"That's Jack," he said sounding surprised. It was as though he had forgotten all that Viv had told him earlier. "What happened to him?"

Danny sent an enquiring look towards Vivienne who shrugged her shoulders slightly in response. She was vaguely aware of the problems Jack had been experiencing with his father. She was beginning to understand more about what was going on now. She knew the signs. He was in the early stages of Alzheimers.

"He was stabbed, Frank. Do you remember I explained to you in the car?" Viv said with understanding.

"Of course I do," Frank snapped crossly. "I mean how did it happen?"

"He was working on a case," Viv replied.

"Yes he was," Frank interrupted. "He was helping Mary find her grandson."

"That's right," Viv acknowledged.

"How's he going to do that while he's in here?" Frank asked sounding irritated.

"Don't worry about that Frank. That's why we're here. We have lots of agents looking for Ciaran," Viv informed him.

"Ciaran? Who's Ciaran? I don't know who that is," Frank said turning back to his son feeling flustered.

Danny looked at Viv who threw here eyes up to heaven. She signalled for Danny to join her outside the room for a while. She needed to talk to him in private about the case and to let him know what the latest developments were. They left Frank talking to Jack and they vacated the room.

The effects of the sedation were wearing off and Jack was slowly becoming more aware of his surroundings. He first became aware of a familiar voice talking somewhere in the distance. He fought through the darkness and eventually managed to pry his eyes open. There was someone standing over him. He blinked a number of times trying to clear his vision. When it finally cleared he realised that it was his father standing there talking to him.

"Dad?" he said weakly. "What are you doing here?"

"A nice lady came and drove me," he said innocently. "She said you had been hurt so I should come."

"You don't need to be here Dad. I'm okay," Jack told him his voice sounding hoarse.

"Okay son," Frank replied. "How will I get home?" he asked like a child. Jack smiled at his innocence.

"Stay for a while. I'll get someone to drive you," he said as he tried to raise himself into a sitting position in the bed. As he was doing so, Danny and Viv returned to the room.

"Jack! What are you doing?" Danny chided as he rushed over to assist the injured man.

"Just getting more comfortable," Jack replied wincing as he moved.

"You should probably stay lying down, at least until the doctor checks you over," Danny insisted. Realising that the slightest movement sent bolts of pain through his torso, Jack decided to listen to his young charge and to remain prone for the short term at least.

"Is Samantha here?" Jack asked, disappointed that she wasn't at his bedside. Danny and Viv exchanged another nervous glance which did not go unnoticed to Jack.

"What's going on? Where is she?" he demanded sensing something wasn't right. Viv knew that they couldn't keep something like this from him and decided that they would be best just to tell him the truth.

"Right now Jack, we don't know where she is," Viv told him.

"What are you talking about?" Jack snapped with frustration. He painfully raised himself up slightly,

"After you were stabbed, she was taken along with Alysa Pacelli and Ciaran Kelly," Viv explained as she put a pillow behind Jack's back.

"Taken? Taken where?" Jack asked not liking what he was hearing.

"We don't know yet Jack. We're following a few leads," Viv informed him.

"Well, what the hell are you doing here then? You need to be out there looking for her. Where are my clothes?" he demanded getting upset and throwing back the bed sheets.

"Jack, you can't leave. You've just had surgery. Please, lie back down and take it easy," Danny pleaded, his concern palpable.

While Jack's heart was telling him he needed to be out there looking for Samantha, his body was telling him otherwise. The blood loss was obviously taking its toll and the effort of sitting up had sent his head into a spin. A wave of nausea swept over him and he had no choice but to lie back and close his eyes to try and stop the room from swaying.

"Jack, are you okay?" Danny asked, noticing Jack's sudden change in demeanour.

"Yeah, just a bit dizzy," Jack replied eyes closed. He put his hand to his forehead and rubbed his brow in a vain attempt to alleviate the pounding.

"Jack, don't worry. Van Doren has assigned another team to find Samantha and brought in extra agents. Everything that can be done is being done," Viv told him. "You concentrate on getting well. Maria was here earlier. Your girls will want to come and visit you," she reminded him.

Jack knew she was right. At the moment, he wasn't much good to anyone. His stomach was killing him. He felt very sore and tender where he had been wounded. He had to give himself a chance to recover. He lay back and though of Samantha. It was night now and she was out there, God knows where. He wondered if she was hurt or possibly dead. Keeping a Federal Agent hostage is of no benefit to anyone. Ransom would never be paid, he knew that and he was sure that most crooks knew that too. So having her with them was a liability. He just prayed that whoever took her didn't realise that yet and had kept her alive somewhere.

Danny and Viv decided that it was best for Jack to get some rest. They agreed to leave him and take his father back home. Despite his exhaustion, Jack struggled to find a restful sleep that night. His dreams were filled with mixed images of Samantha. Several times he woke with a start as disturbing images of her lying bleeding and broken or staring up dead from a shallow grave haunted him. He had to do something. He had to find her. Later that night when the nurse arrived and offerred him pain killers and sleeping tablet he accepted gratefully. I might as well, he thought, I won't be here for long in the morning.

_**TBC**_


	7. Chapter 7

Ric Pacelli and his associates were enjoying after hours drinks and a meal at a downtown eatery when a team of F.B.I. agents led by Dan Jackman broke up their frivolities. Martin Fitzgerald was among the agents on the raid. A scuffle ensued as several of the group including Pacelli attempted to flee. Martin recognised him from his photograph and gave chase. He caught up with him, grabbed him by his shirt as he tried to make it to the back of the restaurant. Ric swung around and threw a punch which connected with Martin's face sending him tumbling backwards onto the floor. Even though momentarily stunned, Martin quickly got to his feet and followed Pacelli through the now open door and down the back alley. He drew his weapon and ordered the fleeing suspect to halt. Pacelli didn't stop. Martin gave chase through the dimly light thoroughfare and again shouted at Pacelli to stop. Just as Martin was about to fire a warning shot, a police car with flashing lights rounded the corner. Pacelli knew that he had no where to go so he stopped and put his hands behind his head. Martin was quickly upon him and cuffed him. He marched him back into the restaurant where Jackman and his team were rounding up the rest of Pacelli's fellow diners. Needless to say, Pacelli was mouthing off about police brutality and preaching his innocence to deaf ears. Martin and Jackman had evidence of his involvement and they let him know it.

"Where is she?" Jackman asked grabbing Ric by the scruff of the neck and leaning down into his face. Ric remained staunch and spit into Dan's face. Jackman restrained himself, stood back up and wiped his cheek.

"Take him away," he ordered. Another agent escorted Pacelli and three of his associates to waiting cars. They were arrested and taken back to headquarters for interview. Martin knew that it was going to be a long night. He called Viv and Danny to let them know that they had Pacelli in custody and that they were on their way back to the office. No one was going to get much sleep tonight.

------------

Samantha sat on the cold tiled floor with her knees tight to her chest and her chin resting on them. It was the only way she could stay warm, wrapping her arms as tightly as she could around her knees and drawing them up to her chest. Through the darkness she could see Ciaran and Alysa sitting huddled close together. He had his arms around her doing his best to make her comfortable. The silence was deafening. No one spoke. Outside nothing moved. She wasn't sure if she wanted to hear someone coming or not. She knew that the only people coming would be Pacelli and his men. She tried not to think about what they had in store for her. She made a decision that she wouldn't make it easy for them. She would protect herself to her dying breath.

------------

Martin met up with Danny and Viv outside the interview room back at headquarters. They watched as the cocky Italian American sat inside, completely unfazed by his predicament.

"Did he say anything?" Danny asked, eyeing the suspect through the one way glass.

"Still claims he knows nothing," Martin replied. "How's Jack?"

"He's going to be fine," Vivienne told him.

"Does he know about Sam?" Martin enquired.

"We had to tell him. He got a bit worked up and wanted to look for her but we managed to convince him that it was under control," Danny replied.

Special Agent Dan Jackman approached the three agents as they chatted. He was the agent lined up to interview their suspect. He stopped briefly to enquire after Jack before entering the room. He was an intimidating figure as he entered the room and his six foot two figure towered above the seated suspect. He was cool in his approach, opening his file on the table in front of Pacelli, arranging himself and getting comfortable when he eventually sat.

"So, Ric, has your memory improved any since earlier?" Jackman asked smiling to unnerve Pacelli.

"My memory is fine," Pacelli replied sitting back in his chair and folding his arms showing no fear.

"Good, then you wouldn't mind telling me about what you were doing here," Jackman said, before slamming a still photograph taken from the security footage down on the table in front of him. The suddenness of the action startled Pacelli who sat back up straight in his seat. He looked at the picture. His face changed and the air of cockiness evaporated when he saw the photo of him dragging Agent Spade through the parking lot.

"Well?" Jackman asked. A realisation hit Pacelli. He had managed to squirm out of trouble many times before but this time he may not get out of this one.

"I want a lawyer," he smirked defiantly.

"Sure, we'll get you a lawyer. The only problem is that it's the middle of the night and right now one of our agents is missing. The way I see it is if you're as clever as you think you are then you will realise that if you tell us where she is, we can cut a nice little deal, just for you," Jackman said leaning over the table towards him.

"Lawyer, now!" Pacelli insisted.

Much as he wanted Jackman wasn't going to push any further. He already had him for kidnap, he couldn't risk harming that case by planting a punch on the smarmy little waster.

"Okay," he said closing his file and getting to his feet. "I'm sure one of your pals will be happy to deal," he said turning his back and walking to the door. Much to his surprise, Pacelli didn't bite and remained tight lipped.

Jackman returned to the waiting agents. Their expressions varied from anguish to disappointment.

"So now what?" Martin asked anxiously.

"We get him his lawyer," Jackman replied. "In the meantime I'll talk to the other detainees. Maybe one of them knows where they're holding them."

------------------

It was early morning when Samantha was jolted awake by the sound of vehicles in the warehouse. "They're back" she thought. She reached for the meat hook she had laid beside her and stood up stiffly. She could hear someone coming to the door. She concealed the hook behind her back. The noise at the door alerted Alysa and Ciaran who also rose to their feet. Light poured in as the heavy steel door was pushed open. Samantha squinted as the light blinded her. The man standing in the door was definately not Ric Pacelli, she could tell that from his silhouette. This was an older man, average height and lean, a far cry from the short rotund figure of Ric Pacelli.

"Daddy?" Alysa said in surprise.

"Get her out of here," he said sharply to another man outside the door. Samantha recognised the second man as he entered. It was Carlo Grosso although she didn't know his name she recognised him from the motel. He grabbed Alysa by the arm and hauled her over to her father despite Ciaran's objections. When Ciaran tried to intervene, he was punched in the nose for his troubles.

"Let her go," he shouted holding his bleeding nose. "You have no right to do this."

"I'm her father," Silvio Pacelli growled. "I have every right," he snarled as Alysa whimpered at his side. "Get in the car, Alysa."

"What are you going to do to them?" she asked fearing his intentions.

"Don't worry, they'll be taken care of," he smiled with malevolence. Samantha didn't like the tone or the implication of his response.

"Look, I'm a Federal Agent," she began. "If anything happens to me, you'll have the weight of the F.B.I. down on you like a ton of bricks," she informed him. Silvio looked at one of his associates and laughed.

"Don't you worry about me, Sweet Cheeks," he smiled. "I'm letting you go. If something dreadful happens to you on your way home, it's hardly my fault, now is it?" he grinned. He turned and shoved his daughter into the back seat of one of the cars. With a knowing nod he bid farewell to Carlo who remained at the warehouse. He was armed and more than willing to carry out Silvio's instructions, an accident was easily arranged.

Inside the car, Alysa was still pleading with her father to leave Ciaran and Samantha alone.

"Please. Don't hurt them. I love Ciaran. He's the father of your grandchild. You can't kill him," she pleaded. Silvio scoffed and glared at her.

"There won't be a bastard grandchild," her father replied with disgust.

"What do you mean?" Alysa asked fearfully.

"We're on our way to a doctor friend of mine. He's going to take care of this problem once and for all," he told her.

"What? No! I won't let you," Alysa cried. "Please don't," she pleaded. Her father could hardly bear to look at her. There was no way he was going to allow this child be born into his family. Alysa sobbed inconsolably as the car continued on its ominous journey.

Unknown to Samantha, when the door of the cold room opened, her cell phone got a signal once more. Far across town a tired but alert forensic technician jumped as the signal pinged on his computer screen. Quickly he tried to identify the cell tower from which the signal was being carried. Once he'd narrowed it down he called Martin Fitzgerald. Martin rushed to the Tech Room in anticipation of a break in the case. He wasn't disappointed. The tech brought up a map of the locality and cross referenced any properties owned or linked to Pacelli's company. There were three that they knew of. Martin called Danny and Vivienne to let them know. Viv interrupted Agent Jackman who was interviewing yet another of the suspects arrested at the restaurant late the previous night. He gave them the go ahead to raid all the properties mentioned. As the exhausted bunch of agents were getting to the elevator they were shocked by the sight that greeted them.

Jack Malone shuffled slowly from the elevator of the Missing Person's Unit, his arm tight to his chest guarding his injured left side. He looked pale and drawn and a little ridiculous wearing a scrubs t-shirt under his black suit jacket.

"Jesus, Jack!" Martin exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to help you find Sam," he said as a matter of fact.

"They let you leave the hospital?" Vivienne asked looking surprised.

"Sort of," Jack smiled devilishly.

"A.M.A. then?" Danny asked. Jack nodded. Viv couldn't believe what she was hearing. While she was glad to see Jack on his feet, she was worried that in his current weakened position that he would be a liability to them in their search for Samantha. He had checked out against medical advice which meant that the doctors didn't consider him fit enough to be going home, let alone back to work.

"So where are you off to?" Jack wondered.

"We have possible locations where Sam and the kids might be held," Danny told him.

"Mind if I tag along?" Jack asked.

"We should probably run it by Jackman first," Martin replied sounding a little embarrassed having to ask permission for his boss to accompany them.

"No need, I'll deal with Jackman later," Jack replied. "Danny, throw this my the office and grab my wind breaker," he said handing Danny his blood caked jacket. Danny took it and ran to his office and found his rain jacket hanging up. When he returned Jack recalled the elevator. The four agents stepped inside and quietly rode to the parking garage. Jack leaned noticeably on the side of the elevator, the beads of sweat on his brow significant of the effort it was taking for him just to be standing there. Danny cast a concerned glance towards Viv who raised her eyebrows and shrugged slightly. There wasn't much they could do other than keep an eye on Jack.

Ciaran felt helpless as he watched the car containing the love of his life disappear out of the warehouse and onto the street. He feared that he would never see Alysa again. A mountain of fury grew within him and he lunged at the armed man standing in front of them. Carlo Grosso swiped at the young Irishman with his pistol, cutting his cheek and knocking him to the floor. Samantha quickly responded, pulling out the concealed meat hook and swinging at Grosso. He wasn't quick enough to respond and yelled out in pain as the hook embedded itself into his back just below his right shoulder. He dropped his weapon. As he bent down to retrieve it Sam managed to kick is across the warehouse floor. She reached down and hauled the stunned Ciaran off the ground as Grosso struggled to pull the hook from his back. She ordered him to run as she dragged him the first few feet. As the two ran towards the back door, Sam prayed that there was a way out. She glanced back to see a bloodied Grosso picking up his weapon. He fired in their direction, thankfully missing them both.

They ran down a narrow corridor which was obviously once the administrative area. At the end of the corridor there was a grey steel door. Sam ran to it and pushed it hoping that it would open. She cursed their luck as the door stood fast. She turned to the frightened youth who was following her and told him that they had to find another way out. She could hear Grosso approaching. They ducked through another internal door into a vacant office space. She ran to the window and tried in vain to open it. Ciaran grabbed a chair and swung it forcibly at the window. The pane of glass shattered. The two pushed out the shards of glass that remained in the window frame before climbing out. They found themselves in an enclosed back yard. They hurried towards the fence in the hope of finding a way out. Just then Grosso appeared behind them. He was not a happy man. He again fired at them, deliberately missing them this time. But the closeness of the shot and the realisation that there was no escape stopped the two in their tracks. Samantha turned around and raised her arms in surrender. Ciaran saw this and followed suit. He couldn't understand why Grosso hadn't killed them. Instead he ordered them back into the building. With his weapon aimed at their backs they returned to the warehouse. As they entered the open area where Grosso's car was parked Samantha caught a movement through the corner of her eye. Just as they were completely exposed and without cover a number of agents wearing body armour made themselves visible and ordered Grosso to put his weapon on the ground. Carlo Grosso was stunned as he scanned the warehouse for any means of escape. He pulled Samantha close to him and put his weapon to her head.

"You all just back out of here or she dies," he shouted frantically.

"You're outnumbered," Martin shouted as he began to walk closer to Grosso, his aim undeviating. "This can't end well for you, Grosso. Let Agent Spade and the kid walk away, then put your weapon on the ground and kick it towards me."

Grosso weighed up his options. It wasn't like he had much choice. He wasn't a stupid man. He knew when he was beaten. He looked around at the several sets of eyes watching him and waiting for an excuse to put a bullet in him. He wasn't ready to die. He pushed Samantha away and lowered his weapon. He followed Martins instructions and dropped his weapon on the ground. He then knelt with his hands behind his head. He was quickly surrounded by agents. Samantha ran towards Martin and hugged him as the emotions she had been bottling up started to flow. A mixture of relief and sadness overcame her. She sobbed on Martin's shoulder as he tried to console her. He was surprised that she had become so emotional. She was pretty tough. He presumed that she must have undergone some horrific treatment at the hands of her captors.

"You're safe now," he said in support as he stroked her hair.

"Thanks. Oh God Martin, they killed Jack," she cried poignantly as Martin led her away from the warehouse and towards one of the waiting cars.

"Jack?" Martin said stopping in his tracks and turning back to her. "Jack's not dead. In fact he's not even in hospital, although he should be," Martin said pointing over to the slightly hunched figure leaning on the hood of the car.

Samantha couldn't believe her eyes. The last time she had seen him he was lying in a pool of his own blood, she was sure he was dead. Now he was walking towards her, with a smile on his face. She ran to him and threw her arms around him.

"Oh, my God, Jack! I thought you were dead," she said hugging him tightly. Jack swayed slightly as Sam clung on to him.

"Woah, easy does it Sam. He's hardly able to stand," Martin said as he steadied Jack. Jack pushed her back slightly and looked at her.

"Are you alright?" Jack asked her when she eventually released him from her grasp.

"I'm fine. I'm so glad to see you. I really thought you were ....," she replied.

"I'm a bit of a miracle according to the docs," Jack joked. Samantha pulled him close to her once again. Then she remembered the case.

"They took Alysa. We have to find her. I think she's in danger."

"Who took her?" Jack asked.

"Silvio, her father," Ciaran replied as he joined in the reunion.

"Do you know where he took her?" Martin asked.

"No but you have to help me find her," Ciaran pleaded.

"We will," Jack promised placing his hand on the young man's shoulder. "Martin, I think we need to have a private chat with Mr. Grosso."

Martin knew exactly what Jack meant. They both walked to the car in which Grosso had been placed. He sat hands cuffed behind his back and quietly resigned to the fact that he was going to jail. Martin sat in on one side of him while Jack opened the car door and stood on the other side.

"Well, Mr. Grosso," Jack began. "You do realise that you're in a whole heap of trouble?"

Grosso just looked defiantly at the agent. He wasn't in the humour to chat. Martin nudged him in the ribs with his weapon.

"Be careful with that, Agent Fitzgerald, you wouldn't want it going off accidentally," Jack said in mock concern. Grosso looked up at him, wide eyed and fearful.

"What do you want?" Grosso asked feeling intimidated.

"Not much. We just want to know where Pacelli is taking his daughter," Martin told him. Grosso looked at him. He knew it was a bad move to be on the wrong side of Silvio Pacelli yet he also knew that he was facing a long stretch behind bars. It was time to look out for number one. If he was cooperative they might go easy on him.

"He's planning to force her to have an abortion," he said calmly.

"Where?" Jack demanded.

"I'm not sure," Grosso admitted. "He has a few doctor friends who might do it. I honestly don't know."

Jack and Martin exchanged glances. They both knew that time was of the essence. They walked away from Grosso and headed back to their own car. Martin couldn't help but notice the pained expression on Jack's face and the more profuse sweat on his brow. He was breathing harder also. Martin had to voice his concern.

"Jack, are you ….?" he began.

"I'm fine," Jack snapped not appreciating the concern. Then seeing Martin's shocked and hurt expression he immediately regretted his harshness.

"I'm sorry," he said apologising. "I guess I am a bit tired."

"You should really be back at the hospital, Jack. We can take it from here," Martin told him.

"I know you can," Jack admitted. "But I started this one and I want to finish it."

Martin understood what his boss was telling him. He knew the kind of man Malone was. There was no point forcing the issue but he made a mental note to keep a watchful eye on Jack until this was all over.

_**A/N - There's probably one last chapter in this one. Thank you all for your reviews. **_


	8. Chapter 8

After locating Samantha and Ciaran, the agents returned to the office and started trying to track down any medical professionals who had known associations with Silvio Pacelli. When they returned they were greeted by a none-too-impressed Dan Jackman. Although happy to see that Agent Spade was alive and well, he was certainly annoyed that the agents had failed to inform him that they had Agent Malone with them.

"Jack, can I have a word?" he asked the visibly exhausted agent.

"Sure, Dan, this way," he replied leading him in the direction to his office. Jack invited him to take a seat.

"Maybe you're the one who should sit down, Jack. You look like you're about to fall," Jackman said seriously.

"I'm okay," Jack fibbed. He really felt like he needed to lie down, but a seat would suffice for now. He took up position behind his desk.

"Does Van Doren know you're back at work?" Jackman asked.

"Eh, not yet. I was planning on telling her though," Jack grinned. Jackman couldn't help but smile. Jack Malone was a man after his own heart. He always put the needs of others ahead of his own well being.

"How about you rest here for a while and I'll bring you in some coffee? You look like you could do with one" Jackman offered kindly.

"You know, Dan, that's the best offer I've had all day," Jack replied with a smirk. He stood up to walk to the couch in his office and grimaced from the pain as he stood. "And if you can get your hands on any painkillers that would be great!" Jack called after him. Jackman shook his head is disbelief at Jack's determination not to give in and return to hospital where he obviously should be.

Jack removed his jacket and tentatively sat on the sofa. He stretched out his legs and put his head back. His eyelids felt heavy. He decided to rest them just for a minute. By the time Agent Jackman returned with the coffee, Jack was fast asleep. Jackman left the coffee and Tylenol on the desk and decided not to disturb him and let him rest. He linked up with the other agents in the bullpen area who were still trying to find Alysa.

Thanks to Samantha's memory and recall they had the licence plate and description of the car into which Silvio Pacelli had forced Alysa in the warehouse. Vivienne had put out a BOLO for the vehicle. Danny returned to the office accompanied by Ciaran Kelly. He had been seen by a doctor and his cuts cleaned up but his concern hadn't dissipated. The first thing he asked when he got there was whether they had found his girlfriend.

"Sorry, not yet. We have every police officer in the city looking out for the car. We'll find her," Samantha said trying to easy his fears.

"Speaking of easing fear, I bet your Mom would love to hear your voice," Martin said. "You could use the phone in Jack's office to call her."

"Eh, Agent Malone's resting in there," Jackman said awkwardly. "I'm sure you could use one of these phones," he suggested looking around at all the phones on the other agent's desks.

"Is Jack okay?" Samantha asked knowing that resting isn't something Jack was famous for.

"Yeah, I think so. The events of the last few days are catching up on him I think," Jackman replied. Samantha smiled and desperately wanted to run into the office and check on Jack but she had to keep up appearances. As Ciaran Kelly sat at Viv's desk to make his call, Jackman returned to his own office. Samantha slipped away and headed for Jack's office. She opened the door and found him lying there, out for the count. She knelt beside the sofa and felt his forehead as any mother would for her sick child. She thought he felt warmer than he should but put it down to the heat of the day.

"I'm so glad you're alive," she whispered, watching him sleep. She pulled a chair over from his desk and remained there with him for longer than she had intended. Eventually Danny stood outside the glass door of Jack's office and gestured that he needed to talk to her. She stood up and left Jack's side.

"Silvio Pacelli's car has been spotted outside a clinic in the Bronx. We're on our way over there. Are you coming?" he asked.

"Em," she hesitated, looking back at Jack. "Maybe I'll sit this one out."

"Okay," Danny said with a wink. He understood her feelings but they always went unspoken. As Danny joined the others and left to go to the Bronx, Samantha needed coffee. She went to the break room and helped herself to coffee and a Danish from the snack machine. When she returned, Jack was sitting on the sofa, talking on his cell phone. He nodded to her when she entered.

"Look, Maria, I swear, I'm fine," Jack was insisting. He threw his eyes up to heaven.

"I couldn't believe you had checked out. That's just typical Jack Malone. That job of yours has always been top of your list of priorities. That's exactly why I can't live with you. I'll explain to your daughter's shall I? I mean Hanna just won't believe me. She's convinced that you're dead and I'm lying to her," Maria ranted.

"I'm sorry, Maria. Put Hanna on the phone. I'll talk to her," Jack offered.

"You're damn right you will. But you'll do it face to face. Call over if you can make the time," she snarled and hung up abruptly.

Jack looked at the cell phone for a moment before putting it back in his pocket.

"Sorry about that. Maria's at the hospital. She's not very happy as you've probably gathered," Jack explained.

"I can't say I blame her, Jack," Samantha replied. "She must be worried sick."

"Worried? That's not quite how I'd describe her mood right now," Jack replied dryly. "That coffee smells good."

Sam looked at the now cold cup of coffee on his desk and then to the steaming cup in her hand.

"I think you need this more than me," she said handing him over the flat white she had so been looking forward to.

"Thanks, Sam," Jack replied gratefully accepting. He took a greedy gulp from the sweet liquid in the paper cup. "Where is everyone?" he asked her.

"Oh, they've found Pacelli's car in the Bronx so they're gone after him," Samantha replied.

"How long ago?" Jack asked his relaxed feeling vanishing. Sam looked at her watch.

"Maybe ten minutes," she replied. As she spoke Jack was on his feet and reaching for his jacket. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm going to the Bronx," he replied.

"But you don't know where they're gone," Sam pointed out.

"No, but you do," Jack replied. "C'mon."

He hurried through the door leaving Samantha with her mouth gaping. He's unbelievable, she thought as she followed him reluctantly. Jack could see young Ciaran sitting anxiously in the corridor waiting for news. He looked so scared, so alone he thought. They both hurried to the car garage and with Samantha driving, they sped towards the address of the clinic.

---------------

Danny and Viv pulled up outside the clinic in one car. Martin and Jackman pulled up around the corner. Sure enough, they were able to identify the car that Samantha had described parked outside. It was unoccupied. They entered the clinic building and showed their I.D. They demanded that Alysa Pacelli be produced. The receptionist looked at them with confusion. She checked her list of procedures for the day and there was no one on the list with that name. Martin went around and double checked. Jackman then produced a photograph of Silvio Pacelli and another of his daughter. The receptionist recognised them both.

"Oh yes, they only arrived a short while ago. Dr. Marelli is seeing them at the moment," she informed them.

"Where's his office?" Martin asked.

"Take the elevator to the first floor, then turn right and you'll see it. His name is on the door," she told them.

The agents followed her directions and were soon knocking on Dr. Marelli's door. There was no answer. Dan Jackman tried the door. It was open so he entered. The office was empty. He turned to Martin.

"Get Dr. Martelli paged. Danny, Vivienne, you search this floor room by room. We need to find that girl before they harm her," Jackman reminded them. And so they spilt up, Martin running to the reception desk, the others started their sweep of the floor.

Meanwhile in a private room, Dr. Martelli was examining a recently sedated Alysa Pacelli.

"So Max, how soon can you have this done?" Silvio Pacelli asked his friend.

"I'm not happy about this Silvio. Legally or morally, I cannot force a woman to abort a foetus," he told him with a hint of fear.

"Well you can if the woman's life is in danger, can't you?" Pacelli pointed out.

"Yes, but your daughter's health is fine. She's not in any danger from this pregnancy," Dr. Martelli told him.

"Isn't she?" Silvio replied menacingly. Just then Dr. Martelli's pager beeped. He looked down at it.

"Sorry, there's an emergency. I have to go. I'll be back as soon as I can," Dr. Marelli said as he stood up and left the room. He went to the nearest phone and called the number from where he was paged. He was shocked and a little relieved to discover that there were federal agents looking for him. He quickly made his way to where Martin Fitzgerald waited.

"Dr. Martelli?" Martin asked.

"Yes."

"I'm Special Agent Fitzgerald. We're looking for Alysa Pacelli and her father. We have reason to believe that they may be here with you," he explained.

"Thank God you're here. Silvio is out of his mind. He wants me to carry out an abortion on his daughter without her consent," Martelli told him.

"Where are they?" Martin asked.

"The next floor up. Room 318," he told them gladly.

Martin thanked him and quickly called the others to tell them. They all rushed to Room 318.

-----------------

As all this was taking place, Samantha was parking the car across the street from the clinic after a speedy drive across town. She and Jack were waiting to cross the road when she noticed a man hurrying from around the back of the building across the street. She knew she recognised him. It was Silvio Pacelli. He looked unhappy and nervous.

"Jack," she said quietly. "Over there. It's Pacelli," she pointed out.

"Come on," Jack said stepping dangerously into the traffic to cross the road. Pacelli was nearing the car which was parked out front. Jack felt for his weapon, as did Samantha. They both jogged to intercept the suspect. Jack was out of breath by the time they reached the opposite kerb. Instinctively he held his hand to his wounded side as he jogged. They closed in on Pacelli who wasn't really paying them any heed at first. He was more concerned with watching if anyone was coming after him. He had failed to look ahead of him. When he finally did see the two agents approaching him it took a few seconds to register who or what they were. He recognised Samantha from earlier that morning. He decided to make a break for it and to try and get to the car.

Jack read his intentions almost immediately and despite his injury, the adrenalin kicked in and he sped up to intercept him. Pacelli managed only to open the car door before Jack was behind him and pulling him back out. A struggle ensued and the two men tussled. Jack held Pacelli by his collar and slammed him into the car knocking the wind out of him. Pacelli, however, was no slouch having had to fight for most things during his life. Using his height advantage over Jack, he swiftly brought his head down and smashed it into Jack's face. As Jack tried to cope with the effects of the head butt, Pacelli brought his knee up and caught Jack in the gut. It was all too much for the weakened agent and he fell into a crumpled heap on the sidewalk.

The sight of Jack writhing, clutching his abdomen, on the ground was too much for Samantha. She wasn't going to let this animal away with it.

"Get on the ground!" she shouted, her weapon aimed at Pacelli. He looked defiantly her. He was considering trying to overpower her, after all she as only a girl. But Sam could almost hear the cogs turning in his head. She smiled broadly for his benefit. "Please do," she said fingering the trigger. "All I need is an excuse," she warned.

----------------

As all this was unfolding outside, the other agents had reached Room 318. They burst in to find a groggy and confused Alysa Pacelli alone in her room.

"Are you alright?" Danny asked the emotional teen.

"I don't know. What did they do to me?" she asked fearing the answer.

"You and your baby will be fine," Viv said entering the room accompanied by Dr. Martelli.

"Where is your father?" Jackman asked sounding a little annoyed.

"I don't know. Was he here?" she asked. No one answered. Jackman started barking orders to close the exits and search the area. His agents diligently followed those orders. Alysa was left in the capable hands of Dr. Martelli and one of Jackman's agents. Martin hurried to the ground floor to check the exit and see if Pacelli's car was still outside.

He looked outside and couldn't believe what he was seeing. Samantha Spade was holding her weapon on a tense looking Silvio Pacelli. Jack Malone was lying in a foetal position on the ground. He ran to offer assistance.

"Turn around," Samantha ordered Pacelli. He stood, staring her down, reluctant to admit the game was up. When he saw the second armed agent emerge from the clinic building he decided to surrender. He put his hands behind his head and turned around. Samantha quickly approached him and cuffed him. Martin called for help from his colleagues before kneeling down beside Jack.

"Jack, are you okay?" he asked then realising what a stupid question it was. Of course he wasn't alright. He was obviously in some distress. At this stage some employees of the clinic were gathering at the main door to see what was going on. Martin called for a doctor. Within a minute more agents and some medical personnel had arrived. Jack was flirting with unconsciousness by this stage.

Samantha, once relieved of her prisoner ran to check on Jack.

"How is he?" she asked the doctor who was now treating him.

"It looks like he's re-opened a recent surgical wound. His nose looks like it's broken. I'm pretty sure he's concussed as well," he replied pressing a bandage down on Jack's bleeding abdominal wound. "Has someone called an ambulance?"

"Yeah, there's one on the way," Martin replied.

"Okay, what's his name?" the doctor asked.

"Jack, Jack Malone," Samantha replied.

"Jack, open your eyes for me Jack," he said wanting to keep the patient conscious because of the likelihood of concussion. His eyes remained closed.

"Jack, wake up Jack. Come on Jack," Samantha tried placing her hand on his cheek. He responded to her voice and her touch and his eyes opened. "Hey, there you go!" He looked up at her blearily.

"Did you find her?" he asked his speech slurring slightly.

"We got her Jack. She's fine and her baby's fine," Martin told him. He watched as Jack's eyes began to close again.

"Jack," Sam snapped jolting him awake. Her fears were allayed when she witnessed the arrival of the ambulance. The doctor from the clinic spoke briefly to the paramedics about his condition. They carefully lifted him onto the gurney and loaded him into the back of the ambulance.

"Can I ride with him?" Samantha asked anxiously.

"Sure, let's go then," the paramedic replied.

The ride to the hospital was quick and it wasn't long before Jack was in a Trauma Room receiving treatment. After a scan to rule out internal bleeding, his abdominal wound was re-sutured. His nose was re-set and he was admitted for observation as a result of his concussion. Samantha stayed with him the whole time. His condition was much improved by the following morning. Samantha had slept in a chair in his room. When she woke she was surprised to find him sitting up watching her.

"Good morning," she smiled, as she uncurled her legs and straightened herself out.

"Good morning yourself," Jack replied.

"You look better," Sam noted.

"I feel better," Jack replied. "Did you stay here all night?"

"Yeah," Sam admitted. "Had to be sure you stayed here this time!" she joked.

Jack laughed and then stopped suddenly as a jolt of pain hit.

"Don't make me laugh," he said trying not to.

"Are you alright?" Sam asked rushing over to his bedside.

"I'm fine, stop fussing," Jack replied. "But I'd kill for some bacon and eggs."

Samantha shook her head and smiled.

"We'll see what the doctor says first," she said protectively.

"Yes, Mom," Jack mocked wryly.

Their conversation continued in such a vein until after breakfast. Jack got his bacon and eggs and enjoyed them immensely. During the first few minutes of visiting time, Jack received unexpected visitors. Ciaran Kelly and Alysa Pacelli called in to see him.

"Agent Malone, we had to come and thank you personally" Ciaran said walking over and shaking his hand.

"There's no need. Have you spoken to your mother?" Jack wondered.

"I did, yesterday. She wants me home," Ciaran told him.

"Can't say I blame her," Jack replied.

"Alysa has decided to come too," he told him.

"That's great," Jack smiled.

"That looks sore," Ciaran said referring to Jack's nose.

"I've had worse. Should be let out of here tomorrow," Jack told them.

"That's good. My Mum said to tell you that you'd be welcome in her house any day. That's her way of inviting you over by the way," Ciaran informed him.

"Wow that would be great. I've never been to Ireland. My father would love to go back, especially to see your Gran. You know, I might just take her up on that," Jack replied.

"She tells me we're cousins or something," Ciaran said looking impressed.

"Or something," Jack replied smiling. "Let's just say we're family."

"Too bad I didn't know all this when I was in school. My mates would have been well impressed to know that I had a cousin a Fed," Ciaran laughed and despite his deliberate efforts not to, Jack laughed along, wincing at the ache it brought on.

He looked at the young lad's beaming face and his girlfriend's glowing smile and hoped that life would be good to these two youngsters who were about to embark on the biggest adventure life had to offer – parenthood. He prayed that they would make it and he was conscious that any one could create a child but it took two very committed people to create a family. While he considered himself a failure at this aspect of life, he hoped that the two teenagers in front of him would manage to succeed.

Then he thought of his own two daughter's. He had a call to make. Maybe he shouldn't write himself off as a father just yet. He could work on it.

**THE END**

_**A/N - Hope u liked it. Wasn't sure how to end it. Hopefully it doesn't suck!**_


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